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The differences between support specialists and sales support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a support specialist, becoming a sales support specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales support specialist has an average salary of $50,782, which is higher than the $40,782 average annual salary of a support specialist.
The top three skills for a support specialist include customer service, patients and mental health. The most important skills for a sales support specialist are customer service, sales support, and powerpoint.
| Support Specialist | Sales Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $40,782 | $50,782 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $24.41 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 125,740 | 238,995 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A support specialist is responsible for assisting technical and administrative support, depending on the business need. Support specialists must have extensive knowledge of the services of the organization they work for to assist customers with their inquiries and resolve complaints efficiently. A support specialist maintains documents of issue resolution, providing recommendations to improve business strategies and procedures. Support specialists must be well-versed on technology systems, perform basic troubleshooting, and secure databases. They should also have impeccable customer service and communication skills to attend with customers' needs and requests.
A sales support specialist is primarily responsible for performing clerical tasks to support a sales team. Typically, they gather sales leads and data, produce progress reports and presentations, maintain records of all transactions, and liaise with different accounting personnel. A sales support specialist may respond to calls and inquiries, resolving customers' complaints and concerns promptly and professionally. Furthermore, one may arrange meetings and appointments with clients, develop sales strategies for profit growth, and process orders, all while ensuring customer satisfaction.
Support specialists and sales support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Specialist | Sales Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $40,782 | $50,782 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $64,000 | Between $31,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between a support specialist and a sales support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Support Specialist | Sales Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between support specialists' and sales support specialists' demographics:
| Support Specialist | Sales Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 6% |